Memorial Courtyard

Overview

The Changing Human Experience (CHE) initiative emerged from the university’s recent Long Range-Planning process, which affirmed the conviction that a university must serve as society’s repository of cultural self-understanding—and that the ideas in its care must have an impact beyond academia.

At Stanford, we believe that the university must not only contribute to technological transformations but also lead the interpretation and explanation of the human experience.

To realize this mission, CHE enables humanities, arts, and social sciences faculty and students to contribute to—and learn about—our place in a rapidly changing world. The initiative provides competitive Cultivating Humanities and Social Sciences grants that enable faculty to explore the key issues of our time.

Through the Public Humanities, training and support are offered to faculty and students who seek to share their work with a broad and diverse audience beyond the university. And interdisciplinary courses are offered for undergraduates that draw upon faculty research and public scholarship and explore pressing questions facing the world today.